Rebels look to get back on 2008 successStory date: May 30, 2010 Johnson County Westside hopes injury bug stays away By Kevin Hill Assistant Sports Editor The Johnson County Westside Rebels had unprecedented success in 2008 when, for the first time in school history, they won a 2A-4 Conference title. But things didn't work out quite so well in 2009. "It seemed like every week, someone went down with something," head coach Kenneth Shelton said of last season. "I don't want to make ex...

D-lightfulStory date: May 29, 2010 Russellville's new-look defense dominates early by kevin hill sports@couriernews.com It's been said by coaches, reporters, analysts and the occasional reporter that defense always seems to do better in preseason scrimmages. Unless you have those high-octane playmakers - see Arkansas Razorbacks -the defense always seems to have the upper hand in spring and fall. This was true Friday night as the new-look Russellville Cy...

Russellville Cyclones: State title or bustStory date: May 1, 2010 Russellville senior boys look to earn school's first state championship By Kevin Hill Assistant Sports Editor Russellville High School's boys soccer team did something it had never done before. The Cyclones won the 7A-Central Conference championship, the first time since 2001 in the old 5A-West. RHS head coach Jared Fuller wants to do something else that hasn't happened at the school - win a state championship in boys s...

Cyclone finishes 1st, 2nd at state track meetStory date: May 1, 2010 Rowser finishes 3rd in discus with 109-foot throw By Kevin Hill Assistant Sports Editor FAYETTEVILLE - Russellville High School's Michael Allen finished first and second in two individual events and helped the Cyclones relay team to a third-place finish Thursday during the Class 7A state track and field meet at the University of Arkansas. Allen won the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:27.33, and finished second in the 8...

Sand Lizards, Pirates win first gamesStory date: May 1, 2010 Storms halt play in Friday's action By Sean Ingram Sports Editor DARDANELLE - The Dover Lady Pirates beat the Ozark Lady Hillbillies 1-0 to open the second day of the 4A-4 District softball tournament at Merritt Park, then Mother Nature put a premature stop to all the action. Dardanelle head softball coach Greg Jones said Friday night the Lady Sand Lizards led the Clarksville Lady Panthers 4-0 in the second inning when ...

Arkansas Tech still on topStory date: Feb. 24, 2010 Wonder Boys remain No. 1 in men's D-II poll; Golden Suns still in top 10 at No. 7 By Kevin Hill Assistant Sports Editor The Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys sure are getting used to being No. 1. They are the nation's No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division II men's basketball and are the only men's college basketball team on any NCAA level still undefeated. The Golden Suns (23-2) fell two spots in this week's USA Today/ESPN Divis...

River Valley schools hustle to reschedule gamesStory date: Jan. 30, 2009 By Kevin Hill sports@couriernews.com When the balmy 60- and 70-degree weather hit a week ago, people were putting the parkas up and grabbing their jackets. But even the weather knew the warm weather wouldn't stick. When the winter weather rolled in Thursday night, it forced area basketball teams to postpone or cancel their games scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Arkansas Razorbacks were one of the few s...

Cyclones fall in icy dualsStory date: Jan. 30, 2009 Conway, Cabot more than RHS can handle Submitted to The Courier Braving predicted icy weather Thursday afternoon, the Cyclone wrestlers travelled to Cabot to face the Panthers and Conway Wampus Cats in a tri-dual meet. Russellville faced off against Conway for the first series of matches, then immediately grappled with Cabot. The aggressive and lightning-fast Wampus Cats proved too much for the Cyclones who only had t...

Sports BriefsStory date: May 23, 2009 Coming Up: Second Memorial Day Classic set for Sunday, Monday By Sean Ingram Sports Editor The second annual Memorial Day Classic, sponsored by the River Valley Bass Club, is Sunday and Monday out of the Lake Dardanelle State Park tournament facility. Registration will begin at 4:30 a.m. Sunday at the state park weigh-in pavilion. Take-off is at 6 a.m. or "safe light" each morning and will conclude with a 2 p.m. weigh-...

Western Conference Finals open todayPublissh Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 Kobe's Lakers, Melo's Nuggets ready for showtime By Bernie Wilson AP sports writer LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles Lakers stepped off one thrill ride and, after little time to catch their breath, have to jump on another. No big deal, Kobe Bryant said Monday, the only day the top-seeded Lakers had to prepare for the Western Conference finals against Chauncey Billups, Carmelo Anthony and the rest of the se...

Hornets sting Sand LizardsStory date: March 7, 2009 Pulaski Oak Grove ends Dardanelle's perfect season By Kevin Hill Assistant Sports Editor The Dardanelle Sand Lizards' dream of a perfect season abruptly came to an end Friday night when the Hornets of Pulaski Oak Grove stung them with a 72-65 loss in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state tournament at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. Dardanelle (30-1) was hoping to reach the state championship game for the first ti...

NLR takes down RHS baseball Cyclones 8-2Story date: March 7, 2009 By Kevin Hill Assistant Sports Editor The Russellville Cyclones took some strides against North Little Rock, but still lost 8-2. One of those strides was getting senior Madison Beaird back to playing form. Beaird, who has been battling a troublesome back injury, finished the night 3-4 with two singles, a double and two RBIs. Russellville (1-3, 0-2) has been working its way through a nasty schedule, but head coach Matt...

HSU names Beth Jackson head softball coachstory date, August 2, 2008 HSU Sports Information ARKADELPHIA - Henderson State University athletic director Sam Goodwin announced the hiring of Beth Jackson as the school's fourth head softball coach in its program's 10 year history. "It is a great honor to be a part of this university and program," Jackson said. "I am very excited to get started and continue on with the great tradition HSU has already established." Jackson takes over for Ric...

From toddlers to Techstersstory date: July 20, 2008 Local kids get to interact, become friends with Wonder Boys, Golden Suns By Sean Ingram Sports Editor Boys and girls between the ages of 5-12 play sports at school, at home, on the playground, in the back yard and watch college and professional sports on TV. How great would it be to get to know their favorite college student-athletes in their favorite sports? They could talk to them after a big win and high-five them ...

Sports calendarstory date, July 19, 2008 Arkansas Valley Soccer Association registeration through Aug. 22 The Arkansas Valley Soccer Association (AVSA) will conduct registration for the 2008-09 soccer season from 10 a.m. through 1 p.m. Saturday at City Mall. Registration forms can also be picked up at Feltner's Athletic Corner, Sport Scene, Hibbett Sports and Mullen Team Sports. Registration forms will be accepted until Aug. 22. For more information, contact...

Predators finish 4th in AAYBA World Seriesstory date, July 15, 2008 For The Courier The River Valley Predators ended its season by placing fourth out of 34 teams in the Amateur Youth Baseball Alliance (AAYBA) World Series on Saturday in St. Louis. After falling 9-1 to the eventual champion Kansas City Blues on Friday in the semi-finals, the Predators faced The Hitting Center for the second time of the tournament, this time falling 14-12 in the consolation game. Pitching for the Predat...

Sports calendarstory date, July 8, 2008 Hurricanes tryouts Tuesday The Russellville Hurricanes U14 girls soccer team will host tryouts at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Russellville Soccer Complex. The Hurricanes have competed in numerous tournaments through the years and established a history of success that includes the 2005 Ozark Spring Classic championship, 2006 Presidents Club Second Division championship, 2007 Grrrl's Elite finalist, 2007 Presidents Cup Seco...

Podobnik nabs preseason all-American honorstory date: July 6, 2008 ATU Sports Information Sporting News College Football 2008 Preview magazine named Arkansas Tech University senior punter Michael Podobnik a preseason NCAA Division II all-American. Podobnik, a unanimous first-team all-American last season after leading the Gulf South Conference and NCAA Division II in punting, is one of seven GSC players honored by Sporting News. The all-American accolades from the Sporting News are th...

Mustangs ready for Jacksonville tourneystory date: July 3, 2008 After a break and a Harrison cancellation of Wednesday's scheduled doubleheader, Russellville Cogswell Motors Mustangs coach Rob Vessell said his team is rested after a busy couple of weeks. "I think the guys kind of needed a couple days off to get refreshed," Vessell said. "We went about two weeks playing almost every day. We had a good practice tonight (Wednesday), and I think we'll be ready to play." The Mustangs (1...

Sports Calendarstory date: June 14, 2008 For The Courier LITTLE ROCK - Registration is now open for the Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza, the country's largest amateur big bass tournament, which returns to the Natural State, June 27-29, for a ninth consecutive year. Please note river levels have been determined to be safe for the tournament contestants by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and we are set to have the tournament on schedule with no complications. Fish...